vivo X200 Pro Hands-On Review: A Flagship Experience with Powerful Upgrades

The vivo X200 Pro has officially made its debut, along with its counterparts, the X200 and X200 Pro mini. While the lineup is impressive, this review focuses on the X200 Pro, a device that takes a familiar formula and makes several notable improvements over its predecessor, the X100 Pro. vivo has positioned this phone as a true flagship, particularly excelling in camera technology, though it packs plenty of other premium features that make it a top contender in the market.

Design and Unboxing

The vivo X200 Pro comes in an elegant package, including the phone itself and standard accessories such as a charger and cable. Upon unboxing, the device immediately impresses with its sleek design and build quality. vivo maintains the design language of its previous models, but the X200 Pro offers subtle refinements.

Measuring 162.4 x 76.0 x 8.5 mm and weighing 223 grams, the phone has an IP68/IP69 rating for water and dust resistance. The front and back of the phone are made of glass, and the sides are encased in an aluminum alloy frame. The design remains clean and premium, with a curved back that integrates smoothly with the display, offering excellent ergonomics.

One of the most striking features is the camera module. A large circular camera island dominates the rear of the device, but the quad-curved display is what sets this phone apart. With uniform curvatures on all sides, the display’s thin bezels measure just 1.63mm, giving the X200 Pro a futuristic, nearly bezel-less appearance.

In terms of color options, the vivo X200 Pro offers Sapphire Blue, Titanium Grey, Moonlight White, and Carbon Black, each with its unique finish. The matte versions, Carbon Black and Moonlight White, feel more sophisticated, while the glossy Sapphire Blue and Titanium Grey offer a luxurious shine that changes under different lighting conditions.

Display: A Stunning OLED Panel

The vivo X200 Pro is built around a stunning 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display, offering a resolution of 1260 x 2800 pixels. The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and can achieve an impressive peak brightness of 4,500 nits, ensuring excellent outdoor visibility even in direct sunlight. The panel offers a 10-bit color depth, providing richer and more vibrant colors.

Being an LTPO panel, the screen can dynamically adjust its refresh rate depending on the content, helping conserve battery life. The display is also curved on all four sides, which enhances its sleek appearance and premium feel.

An additional feature is the Zeiss Natural Color enhancements, which provide more accurate color reproduction, ideal for photographers and videographers who want their content to appear as true-to-life as possible. Whether watching HDR content, gaming, or scrolling through social media, the X200 Pro’s display is a visual treat.

Performance: Powered by MediaTek’s Best

The vivo X200 Pro is the first device to feature MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 chipset, a top-tier SoC built on a 3nm manufacturing process. This chipset promises significant improvements in both performance and efficiency, making the X200 Pro a powerhouse in its class.

The Dimensity 9400 is equipped with an octa-core CPU, consisting of 1×3.63 GHz Cortex-X925, 3×3.3 GHz Cortex-X4, and 4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A720 cores. It is paired with the Immortalis-G925 GPU, which delivers excellent graphical performance, especially for gaming and high-resolution video content. The phone’s performance in benchmarks places it ahead of many competitors, making it one of the fastest devices in the market.

In terms of memory, the X200 Pro comes with multiple configurations, including 256GB with 12GB RAM, 512GB with 16GB RAM, and a top-tier 1TB with 16GB RAM, all utilizing UFS 4.0 for faster read and write speeds. This ensures that apps load quickly, multitasking is seamless, and the phone can handle heavy workloads with ease.

Additionally, the Dimensity 9400 chipset brings some advanced connectivity features. One standout is the support for satellite connectivity, which allows for SOS text broadcasting and long-distance Bluetooth connections. This is particularly useful for users who find themselves in remote areas without cellular coverage, offering peace of mind for emergency situations.

Battery Life: Big Capacity with Fast Charging

The vivo X200 Pro is equipped with a massive 6,000mAh battery, a notable upgrade from the 5,400mAh unit found in its predecessor. The larger battery, combined with the power-efficient 3nm chipset and LTPO display, translates to impressive battery life, ensuring that the phone can easily last through a full day of heavy use.

When it comes to charging, the X200 Pro supports 90W wired fast charging and 30W wireless charging. Although the wired charging speed is slightly reduced from the 100W seen in previous models, the difference in charging times is negligible. With a 90W charger, the X200 Pro can charge from 0% to 100% in under 40 minutes, while the 30W wireless charging is still fast enough to top up the phone quickly without the need for cables.

vivo has also implemented advanced battery technology in collaboration with ATL, making the X200 Pro’s battery more reliable even in extreme conditions, such as temperatures as low as -20°C. This is a significant feature for users who live in colder climates or spend time outdoors in harsh environments.

Camera System: A Photographer’s Dream

The vivo X200 Pro is a camera-centric smartphone, designed to appeal to photography enthusiasts. It features a triple-camera setup on the rear, which includes a 50MP wide main camera, a 200MP telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. Each of these cameras brings something unique to the table, making the X200 Pro one of the most versatile camera phones available.

Main Camera

The 50MP main camera uses a custom Sony LYT-818 sensor with a wide f/1.57 aperture, making it ideal for capturing detailed and vibrant images even in low-light conditions. vivo claims that this camera delivers image quality comparable to 1-inch sensors, offering superior dynamic range and color accuracy.

Telephoto Camera

One of the standout features of the X200 Pro is its 200MP telephoto camera with 3.7x optical zoom. This periscope telephoto lens is ideal for capturing distant subjects with stunning clarity, and it also supports macro photography with a 2.7:1 zoom ratio. vivo’s AI algorithms further enhance zoomed-in shots, ensuring that even at high magnifications, images remain sharp and detailed.

Ultra-Wide Camera

The 50MP ultra-wide camera has a 119° field of view, making it perfect for landscape photography or fitting more subjects into a single frame. The autofocus feature also allows for close-up macro shots, adding to the versatility of this camera.

Selfie Camera

On the front, the X200 Pro features a 32MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture. It captures sharp and well-exposed selfies, and the camera’s wide-angle lens ensures that group selfies or background details are never missed.

Software: OriginOS 5 on Android 15

The vivo X200 Pro runs on Android 15 with OriginOS 5 (in China) or FuntouchOS 15 (in global markets). Both operating systems offer a smooth and intuitive user experience, with a clean interface and minimal bloatware.

vivo has also integrated a number of AI-powered features into the software, including BlueLM Copilot, which assists with tasks like copywriting and note-taking. The software also supports “Circle to Search,” an AI-driven feature that helps users find information quickly by drawing circles on the screen.

Conclusion: A True Flagship Contender

The vivo X200 Pro is a feature-packed flagship that excels in nearly every department. With its stunning OLED display, cutting-edge Dimensity 9400 chipset, massive battery, and versatile camera system, it has all the ingredients to compete with the best smartphones on the market. vivo has also paid attention to smaller details, such as advanced satellite connectivity, making the X200 Pro a well-rounded device that will appeal to power users and photography enthusiasts alike.

If vivo can maintain a competitive price point, the X200 Pro is poised to be one of the best flagship smartphones available, at least until the next wave of devices hits the market.